Emotional Causes of Back Pain

Low back pain is the leading cause of disability worldwide, affecting millions of people. Acute pain is intense and lasts from a few days to several weeks. Acute back pain is generally due to sprains or strains and usually gets better in a few weeks. Chronic pain lasts longer than three months. Back pain is the number two reason people visit their doctor (number one is colds and flu).

Back pain has both the physical and emotional causes. On the physical side, lower back pain in men shows up as sciatica, prostate or kidney stones. For women, it affects the ovaries and pelvic disorder. On the emotional side, in men it can signal anger issues and stress of unsatisfying job/home life. In women, it can signal loss of power and feeling unsupported.

On the emotional side, worrying about your financial condition can cause lower back pain. Such worry causes the body to produce high amounts of the hormone cortisol. Overproduction of cortisol happens when you enter into a survival mindset. This condition weakens your immune system, suppresses digestion, affects your reproductive system and impairs the growth process.

Everything that exists in our universe is made up of energy. We are like fish, swimming in an invisible sea of energy. The wi-fi signal you pick up with your smart phone, laptop, iPad, Kindle, and other devices is an energy stream in the form of radio waves. Your heart and brain emit waves that can be monitored.

When you feel emotion, it is not just a feeling inside you. You actually emanate the energy of that emotion. You may not be able to see it, but it has a direct impact on your health. It can not only cause emotional pain, but physical pain.

Energy healing is one of the oldest practices in the world. Since 4000 BC healers have understood that our health depends on the quality of the energy that flows through our bodies. Chinese medicine calls it “qi.” Ayurvedic medicine calls it “prana.”

When that energy is blocked by suppressed negative emotions, pain sets in. Only by releasing these trapped emotions can you relieve the pain and start to heal.

Emotional stress can cause muscle tension resulting in headaches, neck pain, and back pain. Stress, anxiety, and other negative emotions produce high amounts of the hormone cortisol. This chemical alters your immune system, suppresses digestion, affects your reproductive system, and impairs the growth process. These bodily functions become less important when the body enters survival mode, which is what happens with an overproduction of cortisol.

Adrenaline is another fight-or-flight hormone that your body generates when put in stressful or high-pressure situations. Normally, adrenaline levels drop when the perceived threat passes, returning your heart rate and blood pressure to baseline levels. However, if you have constant negative emotions, adrenaline levels may remain high and adversely affect your health.

Emotional MeaningThe back is made up of many muscles, but when we speak of back pain, we usually speak about the spine. The spinal column is a stacking of 33 vertebrae, distributed as follows: cervical, dorsal, lumbar and sacral.

Pain or disability in the lower back (sacral region) at the base of the spine indicates fear of losing your freedom when others need your help. Often enough, you fear for your own survival.

Pain and discomfort from the fifth lumbar vertebra (the lower back) to the eleventh dorsal vertebra (waist) denotes fear of material loss. The back provides the greatest support for the physical body; therefore, any back problem indicates that you don’t feel enough support.

The lower back is connected to the having in your life (having a home, money, a spouse, children, a good job, a diploma, etc.). You believe you must have it all in order to feel supported, but you don’t want to admit this to yourself or others. You want to do everything by yourself. You also tend to be very active because you think that it is the best way to have things.

From an emotional perspective, pain in the upper back and shoulders means you feel overloaded, there is too much for you to handle in life. It could also mean that you feel somebody is watching you, that they’re on your back all your time.

Upper back pain (from the tenth dorsal vertebra (the waist) to the cervical, or neck area) represents emotional insecurity. Doing is very important to you. It’s your way of showing and giving love to others. If someone does something for you, you feel loved and secure. However, your back pain might provide you the perfect excuse not to do everything for others, as you may fear that by doing too much, others won’t help you anymore.

You expect a lot from others and when your expectations are not met you may feel you have a lot on your back. You have difficulty asking for help or support from others. When you do finally decide to do so and don’t receive the help, you feel ˜stuck’ and your back worsens.

Upper back pain could also mean that you feel somebody is watching you, that they’re on your back all the time.

On the other hand, hip pain can denote fear of change. If you’re dreading a big life change coming up, but don’t want to make the necessary changes, it can result in you experiencing stiff hips. Learn to embrace change, or at least face it head-on, to loosen up your hips.

In order to achieve full recovery from back pain, you will need to address both the physical and emotional causes.